CONNIE L. LEREA received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Rochester in 1985 and began her studies in the field of G-proteins as a postdoctoral fellow with Jim Hurley at the University of Washington. She used molecular, biochemical and immunocytochemical techniques to establish the existence of rod and cone specific forms of a-transducin, thus explaining the previous observation of two different cDNA clones for this molecule. This work was fundamental for unraveling differences between phototransduction in rods and cones. Connie, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Biology & Anatomy, established her own laboratory at New York Medical College in 1989. She began to analyze the structure of the gene for human cone a-transducin and planned to characterize the nuclear elements that dictate its cone-specific expression. Connie was named a Sinsheimer Scholar in 1990 and, recognized for her achievements, served as a reviewer for the NIH Visual Sciences Study Section. This lecture series is in remembrance of Connie's accomplishments before she died of leukemia in 1992.